Shakespeare and Comedy
This is the second Midsummer post and is due before class starts on Thursday, March 25.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy, which is something that today's television viewers should know a little something about.According to Scholastic Scope magazine, Shakespeare wrote about three kinds of classic mix-ups: 1) mistaken identity, 2) love triangles, and 3) strange coincidences. Each of these classic mix-ups are staples on 21st Century sitcoms. The next time you watch your favorite sitcom or re-run, look for one of those classic mix-ups involving the characters.For your assignment, select one (1) of the classic mix-ups from above and find an example of it from a popular sitcom you watch. First, describe the mix-up from the sitcom, and then explain how the humor of the mixed-up situation helps increase your enjoyment and appreciation of the show. What makes it funny?
As with all of these assignments, it is a good practice to write your response in a word processing program like Microsoft Word so you can better edit and proofread your entry before submitting it. It also makes sense to save a copy of your response in case you have problems posting.
12 comments:
In 2 and a half men while sleepwalking Alan mistakes Rose for his Mom. It is funny because Rose is relatively young and their Mom is old as sand, making it irony.
-Brede
I was watching the sitcom Full house. Danny was going on date with this girl but Jesse knew her for a long time and jesse and her want to go back out together. But Danny doesn't like it so he goes out with jess's girl and they start fighting about which girl that they are going to have. I would call that irony because they are trying to see which two girls would go out with who.
Elyssa
The sitcom Scrubs always proves to be an enjoyable one. During one episode, Dr. Elliot has a patient who needs to gain weight. The patient is suffering from anemia, and if she doesn't gain weight she would experience chronic fainting spells. Elliot instructs the patient to gain weight and eat more. This advice proves to be problematic because the patient does not want to gain weight. After hooking the patient up to an IV bag, Elliot begins to exit the room. As soon as she steps into the hallway, her mentor, Dr. Cox, stops her. He tells her that she gave the patient proper advice, but it was rather hypocritical. For Dr. Elliot was quite the featherweight herself. Dr. Cox states that if Elliot wants her patients to take her advice, she better start following her own advice first. Elliot refuses initially, and as she hesitates at eating, so does her patient. They have a heart to heart talk about body image, and how hypocritical advice can be. Elliot learns to have "some of her own medicine" and the episode ends with both Dr. Elliot and her patient eating a burger rather than a salad. The relationship between doctors and patients is more apparent in Scrubs and in real life than most realize, proving to be a strange coincidence.
In the show House, House is a doctor who seems to have an arrogant personality. He is often has patients with strange and unusual symptoms and it is his job to determine what is wrong with them. In one episode, House is traveling back to the United States on a commercial flight when a patient begins to vomit continuously. Soon, the patient develops a sort of skin rash and is unaware of his surroundings. While at first, the man is thought of as just having the flu, the steaks change when he develops the rash and Cuddy, House’s boss, as well as another patient, becomes ill as well with the same symptoms. House soon realizes that the man is showing the symptoms of the deadly and severely contagious disease, Meningitis. With the plane flying over an ocean and not enough fuel to return back to the airport, the flight must continue to its designated landing time and area. The three people are isolated from the rest of the plane. It is ironic, however, because while initially, House cannot determine for a fact, whether or not the three passengers have Meningitis, he eventually comes to a conclusion. House searches through the man’s pockets and comes across his wallet. In his wallet, holds a receipt for a scuba diving lesson. House realizes that one is not supposed to change dramatic pressures too much in a short amount of time, because it can cause irregular oxygen flow throughout a person’s veins, hence the rash and vomiting. It is also ironic because the other passenger realizes she is pregnant, which is why she is vomiting. To add to the drama even more, Cuddy does indeed, have the flu. This is a perfect example of a “strange coincidence” which William Shakespeare wrote about time and time again.
Emily
I was watching this movie which name should not be said because it is quite inappropriate, but anyways there was an identity mix-up. This one boy was at a party and started kissing some girl, but then he realized this girl was his sister!!
This made it funny because it is disgusting that a kid was kissing his sister.
Jack Limauro
In the show Hannah Montana, Miley thinks that Oliver loves her but Olivers girlfriend Lilly loves him. They all become angered because Lilly feels betrayed by Oliver because she was going to tell him that she loves him.However Miley wants no apart of Oliver. This is ironic and funny because Miley and Lilly are best friends so there is a bit of a fued going on between them for a while till they all got it straightened out.
Austin
A really funny strange coincidence is in The Pirates of Penzance. Frederic, a loyal pirate, is happy that he can leave piracy now that he's 21 years old because he wants to marry Mabel. But then, he finds out that his birthday is in leap year, so he's technically 5 years old! He tells poor Mabel to wait 60 more years for him, but the broken-hearted Mabel steels to be faithful although it seems so long of a time period to wait for. This situation is ironic/paradoxical and witty. It helps increase the enjoyment because the audience thinks all is going well between Mabel and Frederic until it's announced that Frederic does not technically meet the requirements to be free. Unexpected twists are great.
Anjita
by the way, the scrubs blog is by jena greene, however I forgot to attach my name.
In one of the episodes of George Lopez, his wife Angie, had her sister come over to visit. She was very depress because of her and her husband were having a divorce. Angie, George’s wife made a comment saying it wasn’t all about the looks and sometimes the guys who aren’t the best looking may just be the best for you because they won’t hurt you. As Angie’s sister was telling her this; her sister started to look at George differently. She started to become more flirtatious with him and before you knew it she kissed him. George couldn’t believe it because that was his wife’s sister; a women who never acknowledged him. By this happening it drew the sister’s apart. Angie ended up kicking her sister out the house because of this incident.
victoria
In many sitcoms the idea of identity mix up is a large theme and idea. For instance, in many sitcoms where there are twins, the twins will switch places to fool everyone else. In Malcom in the Middle, the brothers have one of them sleep in their bed with the covers up and turned away so that the parents will think that it is really them and that they are fast asleep but really they aren't in bed and then usually something will go wrong with the one who isn't where they are supposed to be. This is an example of identity mix up because the parents mistake someone else for them. Doing this makes the show more entertaining and it adds a twist because there is dramatic irony, in that you know who is really under the covers but the parents has no idea. usually something crazy will happen with this situation which makes it very funny to watch.
JAKE-
in the show "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air", their was a mix-up when Will decides to throw a party at his Uncle Phillips house while Phil and his wife Vivian decide to go to Las Vegas for the weekend. Will plans the party with his two cousins, Carleton and Hilary, and start fixing up the house by taking all the furniture out and bring in the Dj equipment and party favors. When all the guests arrive and party, they make a huge mess at the end. Will, Hilary, and Carleton dont really worry about it because they have a day to fix everything when all of a sudden his unlce and aunt call saying there coming back on the same night. This makes it really funny because they had to rush to get everything fix and end up finishing right as soon as his aunt and uncle walk in and they get of the hook.
-Deny
I was watching Hannah Montana, at the time Oliver, one of Mileys best friends didn’t know that Miley was Hannah Montana, and he was her biggest fan. He was always saying how much he loves her and admires her. Miley sat down with Lilly, her best friend because Lilly knew she was Hannah Montana, and Miley needed Lillys help on how to tell Oliver that she is Hannah Montana. Miley dressed up as Hannah and went to the beach to meet Oliver. When Oliver found out she was Hannah Montana he was taken back. He had no clue. Hannah was scared to tell Oliver about he secret because she saw how much he loved Hannah and she was afraid he would fall in love with her. That wasn’t the case but Oliver felt weird about the whole thing because Miley is his best friend and he never expected her to be Hannah Montana. Funny story how sometimes you think your in love with one of your friends but you find out the real them and you realize that you and that person would only be friends.
-Crissy Smith
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